river in Belarus, a tributary of the Dnieper, which it joins near Rechitsa. Its 381-mile (613-kilometre) length drains 9,450 square miles (24,500 square km). Rising north of the Minsk Elevation, it flows to the south-southeast in a meandering course through a swampy, forested basin. It is navigable only by small craft. During Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in 1812, a bitter engagement was fought on the Berezina.